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Gilbert Nyamutsamba

Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE Cheetahs coach Gilbert Nyamutsamba has opted to blend youth with experience as he continues to build his Africa Cup squad, with the seasoned gaffer yesterday naming a strong side for the Windhoek Draft Sevens tournament in Zambia this weekend.

Trading as the Zambezi Cheetahs, the national side will leave this morning for the tournament which Nyamutsamba and his technical crew are using to fine-tune the squad they will use for next month’s Africa tournament in Kampala, Uganda.

The Africa Cup is the qualifying tournament for the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco in the United States.

For the Cheetahs, the build-up to possible qualification moves a gear up tomorrow when they take part in the tournament in Zambia which will be followed by another tourney in Maseru, Lesotho, this month.

Although he picked a strong 12-man squad for the Cheetahs, Nyamutsamba will also have one eye on the second string side, the Goshawks, who are also travelling for the same tourney and have players who have previously featured for Zimbabwe.

But it is the inclusion of such debutants like Matabeleland Warriors’ Tarisai Mugari, Shingi Hlanguyo of Sharks Academy in South Africa and Mark Kidson, who plies his trade with Oxfam Crusaders in the United Kingdom, which underlines Nyamutsamba’s bid to widen his selection base.

“Tarisai is a locally-based player that we have looked at a number of times and we thought of giving him a chance.

“Shingi and Mark are first-time players. Shingi comes from our junior Sables and is a player we are grooming, but he will not be part of the Africa Cup squad.

“In as much as we are focussing on the Africa Cup we also need to look to the future.

“Mark is an experienced players who plays competitively in the UK so he is one of the players we are looking at, once he gets to understand how we play at the Cheetahs,’’ Nyamutsamba said.

The coach has also included big Tapiwa Tsomondo, who is based in Cape Town, and is one of the seasoned players expected to make the cut for the Africa Cup along with the absent quintet of Njabulo Ndlovu, Takudzwa Chitokwindo, Boyd Royce, Shayne Makombe and Ryan O’Neil.

“The team that we are taking to Lusaka is part of the initial squad of 40 that we identified.

“We trimmed it to 26 for the Victoria Falls tournament so this continues to be part of the selection process whereby we are looking at the best possible squad.

“We are looking at testing combinations and testing the skills levels of each player, so it is still a selection tournament.

“The reason we are looking at a bigger pool is to ensure no-one takes anything for granted because of experience or the number of years they have given us,” Nyamutsamba.

Teams

ZAMBEZI CHEETAHS: Biselele Tshamala; Mark Kidson; Tapiwa Tsomondo; Scottie Johns; Stephan Hunduza, Takudzwa Francisco; Shingi Hlanguyo; Ngoni Chibuwe; Hilton Mudariki; Lenience Tambwera; Mkhululi Ndhlela; Tarisai Mugariri

Head Coach: Gilbert Nyamutsamba

MANAGER: Donald Mangenje

ASSISTANT COACH: Jafet Ndebele

Physiotherapist: Anne Butau

ZIMBABWE GOSHAWKS: Russell Dodo; Emmanuel Zangari, Tendai Dzongodza; Kilvan Magunje; Stephan Hunduza; Osborne Muhambi; Innocent Nyatsanza; Tinashe Gwisai; Gideon Muyambo; Hilton Mudariki; Takudzwa Kumadiro; Walter Gode; Brian Dube; Prince Ncube

Head coach: Tangai Nemadire

Manager: Simbarsahe Dangah